What do we all look like [Archive]

Mercutio

06-27-2002, 11:37 PM

Verbal description for those of us without hosting services to post (and no decent pictures besides).

I've been told I look a lot like Wayne Knight. http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:Yd9RycqGTwQC:www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9611/19/wayne.knight/link.knight.jpg.

My hair is shorter - always combed straight back, gray at the temples - and from the neck (what neck I have, which isn't much) down I'm generally more broad and less round. Other than that it's an unfortunately close resemblance.

I wear really thick glasses and I have a high, soft speaking voice unless I'm trying to project. I'm 5'10 (1.78m). I rarely speak unless spoken to.

Given the choice I wear "Carhart" jeans, tshirts and flannel overshirts. At work I'm almost always in Khakis and a dark, solid-colored polo. I never wear anything with a visible logo or any writing on it. I can tie a bow tie but not the normal kind, so I try to avoid formality. I always carry two pens, a mechanical pencil, a little swiss army knife and a silver dollar that I found in a riverbed when I was five in my pockets. Usually I wear a simple timex watch (I have a couple that are much nicer, that I never wear) and a silver rope-style chain around my neck.

Jake the Dog

06-27-2002, 11:46 PM

i've had this short 15 year fad thing going on with my hair. this is what i mean:

this was me 12 months ago: http://members.optushome.com.au/gysberts/photogallery/timgys2.jpg

this was me 6 months ago: http://members.optushome.com.au/gysberts/photogallery/tim-g.jpg

i'm almost over it now :)

here's me last month: http://members.optushome.com.au/gysberts/photogallery/tim2.jpg

disclaimer: i'm not responsible for any shock, distress or any other harm, physical or mental that you may incur as a result of seeing what i look like.

Tea

06-28-2002, 12:00 AM

Well, everybody knows what I look like. That's my picture in my avatar after all. But here is a picture of me when I was just a baby, before I grew a proper amount of hair. That's Kristi holding me on the left, but you can't see much of her.That's a pity, cause she's pretty. Nearly as pretty as me!

http://www.redhill.net.au/sf/babytea.jpg

I don't usually wear any clothes at all. Tannin thinks I am silly because, seeing as I am usually only wearing my beautiful fur, I don't have any pockets. This is where having such big cheek pouches really comes in handy.

Humans are such badly designed creatures.I mean, how many of you guys can do this?

http://www.merpati.co.id/orangutan.jpg

Tannin

06-28-2002, 12:06 AM

Has anyone ever noticed how, if you only have one picture of yourself handy, that it's always the most stupid, daggy-looking one you can possibly imagine? You know, the one where you are pulling a dumb face, or your shirt is on inside out, or something.

Sometimes I hate Murphy.

Dozer

06-28-2002, 12:07 AM

This is me ten minutes ago...

http://planetdozer.dyndns.org/files/baby.jpg

Tea

06-28-2002, 12:09 AM

Tannin, on the other hand, is not nearly so good-looking. Especially today. That's because it's Friday, and he is always at his absolute worst on Fridays.

Here -

http://www.redhill.net.au/sf/fridaytannin.jpg

See what I mean?

Tannin

06-28-2002, 12:10 AM

Tea! Unpost that picture right away, you tart! Who the hell said you were allowed to post that?

Tea

06-28-2002, 12:11 AM

I won't! I took it, I can post it if I want to.

Tannin

06-28-2002, 12:17 AM

But it's my camera! Give it back! And don't you dare go posting pictures of anyone else.

Tea

06-28-2002, 12:20 AM

http://www.redhill.net.au/sf/soupnaziear.jpg

There! That's not a picture of anyone, it's just an ear.And anyway, I'm not going to say who it is, so I can't see that there is anything wrong with that is there?

(I'm sure the Soup_Nazi won't really mind.)

Groltz

06-28-2002, 12:34 AM

What do we all look like?

Women hire me to scare the spiders out of their homes.

Mercutio

06-28-2002, 12:34 AM

Wow. Tannin looks almost exactly like I expected.

Koggit

06-28-2002, 12:34 AM

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! http://www.saiyantriplestrike.com/vbb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1316gravity reversed itself and I wasnt ready, but never again!

Bartender

06-28-2002, 01:09 AM

Wow. Tannin looks almost exactly like I expected.

That picture surprised me. I figured he'd be heavier, older looking, but not as psychotic. But he needs a haircut.

Buck

06-28-2002, 01:22 AM

I don't have a digital picture of myself or scanner handy so here goes the old Mercutio-no-image-solution:

Look at my avatar, shave the beard, lose the hat, drop a few years, and you're close. No grey hair yet, that doesn't come until the late fifties in my family, and losing hair doesn't happen until the mid to late sixties (so you know I have not reached that period). One more thing, it case some knows about my German background - no, we're not all blondes. As a matter of fact, most Germans are not (those blasted Bavarians are always trying to fool people with their blonde propaganda).

BR

Bartender

06-28-2002, 01:24 AM

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! http://www.saiyantriplestrike.com/vbb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1316gravity reversed itself and I wasnt ready, but never again!

Koggit, your picture is much better then your avatar, I'd recommend a switch (seems to suit your personality).

OT: Polizei

06-28-2002, 01:26 AM

http://www.storageforum.net/phpBB2/images/avatars/gallery/users/44058b713d12880c9c425.jpg

P5-133XL

06-28-2002, 01:30 AM

http://home.attbi.com/~markturner/Mtt.jpg

Yes, this is me wearing an SR tee shirt

http://home.attbi.com/~markturner/office.jpg

This is what my office looks like

Bartender

06-28-2002, 01:34 AM

You surprised the brownies out of me Mark. But your office seems less cluttered then expected. You seem to have plenty of wall space above your computer for shelves.

Mercutio

06-28-2002, 01:42 AM

P5 is clearly a man with a great need of more horizontal surface area. ;)
Where does one get an SR shirt?

Groltz

06-28-2002, 01:50 AM

Yes, this is me...

How much did Eugene pay you to wear that, Mark?

(Sorry...I'm joking...Couldn't resist :wink: )

Bartender

06-28-2002, 01:50 AM

P5 is clearly a man with a great need of more horizontal surface area. ;)
Where does one get an SR shirt?

Why don't we have SF shirts?

Groltz

06-28-2002, 01:56 AM

Why don't we have SF shirts?

I don't know about shirts, but I sure see a lot of SF hats during tourist season.

http://store1.yimg.com/I/allsportsclothing_1695_18309079

P5-133XL

06-28-2002, 02:07 AM

You surprised the brownies out of me Mark. But your office seems less cluttered then expected. You seem to have plenty of wall space above your computer for shelves.

You just have no concept of books. In my basement I have 20,000+ books (basicly 1600 sq ft dedicated to just book shelves) and that is why there are no shelves above the computer. The books are elsewhere. I really wish that I had a low focal length lens attached to my cheapo digital camera (A JamCam 2.0) so that I could get a wide enough field of view so that you could see the enormity of the book collection.

Just as a sample of my basement
http://home.attbi.com/~markturner/basement1.jpg http://home.attbi.com/~markturner/basement2.jpg

flagreen

06-28-2002, 02:12 AM

Koggit

06-28-2002, 02:13 AM

Where did you get that Storage Review Shirt? any way here I am taking after my dad as a international man of mystery

http://www.saiyantriplestrike.com/vbb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1314

flagreen

06-28-2002, 02:15 AM

So Koggit shows his dark side eh?

P5-133XL

06-28-2002, 02:19 AM

Why don't we have SF shirts?

I don't know about shirts, but I sure see a lot of SF hats during tourist season.
Imposter
http://store1.yimg.com/I/allsportsclothing_1695_18309079

Real

http://home.attbi.com/~markturner/SRHat.jpg

The Giver

06-28-2002, 02:22 AM

http://www.cdpl.lib.in.us/raves/giver.jpg

P5-133XL

06-28-2002, 02:24 AM

Since people are asking,

I got my shirt and cap from Eugene in recognition for the work I did answering questions in the old Tech Support forum. I suppose you too could get one from him for an equivilent service.

Groltz

06-28-2002, 02:25 AM

Why don't we have SF shirts?

I don't know about shirts, but I sure see a lot of SF hats during tourist season.
Real

http://home.attbi.com/~markturner/SRHat.jpg

How can that be a real StorageForum hat?

The Giver

06-28-2002, 02:28 AM

Groltz

06-28-2002, 02:30 AM

P5-133XL

06-28-2002, 02:59 AM

http://home.attbi.com/~markturner/office.jpg

by the way, the open desktop case to the left of the monitor is my infamous Gateway 2000 P5-133XL

timwhit

06-28-2002, 03:09 AM

Mark, where is your mouse?

Koggit

06-28-2002, 03:14 AM

How many working computers do you have goin there ?

timwhit

06-28-2002, 03:22 AM

Tannin, you look like you need a cup of coffee in that picture.

I'll eventually get a good picture of myself, it might not be possible.

Jake the Dog

06-28-2002, 05:33 AM

by the way, the open desktop case to the left of the monitor is my infamous Gateway 2000 P5-133XL

i was just thinking about that and you pointed it out :)

Prof.Wizard

06-28-2002, 07:05 AM

Sorry for not smiling...
http://space.tin.it/io/kmihaili/Killer.jpg
Yes, I need a haircut too.

Cliptin

06-28-2002, 07:41 AM

Sorry for not smiling...
http://space.tin.it/io/kmihaili/Killer.jpg
Yes, I need a haircut too.

Ahhhhhhh. Put some clothes on.

Cliptin

06-28-2002, 07:43 AM

Wow. Tannin looks almost exactly like I expected.

Yep, me too.

P5 though, not one little bit.

Koggit

06-28-2002, 07:44 AM

You look like one bad mutha fu.....Shut yo mouth.......what? I'm just talking Prof.Wizard

Prof.Wizard

06-28-2002, 07:54 AM

Ahhhhhhh. Put some clothes on.
Man, trust me. This is the case once June hits Rome. 30'+ grads. And I don't have air-conditioning at home... :(

You look like one bad mutha fu.....Shut yo mouth.......what? I'm just talking Prof.Wizard
LOL. Yeah, real bad ass. And please notice the stripes of the Hellenic flag behind me. Pride! 8)

Jake the Dog

06-28-2002, 08:32 AM

pf looks remarkably like a young christopher lambert i reckons.

CougTek

06-28-2002, 08:51 AM

I expected Tony to look like Mark and Mark to look like Tony...

I thought my ~3000 books were quite a lot, but Mark beats me badly.

I have no picture of myself and except for those taken for my ID cards, there's no picture of myself at all since I'm about 12 years old. With the temper I have, I don't want to leave something that could make me easily identifiable in case my wires touch when somebody's around.

I can't think of a famous personality ressembling me. No one would make it to the T.V. with a look like mine.

NRG = mc²

06-28-2002, 08:56 AM

You think you have to shave? Man, you're an amateur ;-)

Well, after seeing other's pics, I feel I'm just fine in that respect. But where is your pic? I remember when Jason posted a pic, you said "am I the only one who doesn't look nice and friendly here?" or something like that. Can you manage to look more evil than Prof?

Jake the dog looks funny (the last photo), Tony, I imagined you looking more like Mark, who look a bit like a cave man 8)

Don't you notice that one almost never turns out what you imagined when talking to them? Its wierd...

NRG = mc²

06-28-2002, 09:01 AM

OK, didn't see Cougtek's response. :oops:

Mercutio

06-28-2002, 09:05 AM

Hello Mercuuuuuutio...

Bill, please tell me that's not some kind of weird statement of attraction.

CougTek

06-28-2002, 09:09 AM

[quote]You think you have to shave? Man, you're an amateur ;-)Thinking about it, I'm an amateur too. I normally stand between you and Tony as far as beard goes.

But where is your pic? I remember when Jason posted a pic, you said "am I the only one who doesn't look nice and friendly here?" or something like that. Can you manage to look more evil than Prof?
I really don't have any picture of myself, no joke. Even my mother doesn't.

About the looking bad part, Prof. looks more stoned than bad to me, although it's obviously from heat rather a result of drug abuse. I might have a similar look when the temp here raise above 25C.

Will Rickards WT

06-28-2002, 09:41 AM

If you go to http://www.wilsontechnology.com
in the upper left hand corner on the main page
I'm the one with the red shirt sitting down.
It was a good thing I shaved that day.
I've only been shaving once a week lately.

Prof.Wizard

06-28-2002, 10:00 AM

About the looking bad part, Prof. looks more stoned than bad to me, although it's obviously from heat rather a result of drug abuse. I might have a similar look when the temp here raise above 25C.ROFLMAO
:mrgrn:
Stoned?! No, not stoned! (at least not now...)
It's true, heat is killing me... And my almost-80-grads Athlon agrees too.

Mercutio

06-28-2002, 10:06 AM

Damn this thread for making me use IE...

I am extremely envious of Mark's collection of books (I have a few thousand myself, and some thousands of CDs, but not 20,000 of anything), and wondering, upon an additional examination of Mark's picture, whether or not he has eyebrows.

PeeWee looks like someone about to be picked out of a police lineup. I suppose that's the heat but I can see it nonetheless.

The Giver does not look very African-American, either.

Prof.Wizard

06-28-2002, 10:07 AM

Wow. Tannin looks almost exactly like I expected.

Yep, me too.

P5 though, not one little bit.
Guys... I couldn't agree more. :P

Tannin is EXACTLY as I imagined him. This is absolutely fabulous.
Kudos to Tannin for being able to combine form and spirit. He looks as he posts and he posts as he looks!!

(this IS a compliment, Redhill dude!)

-------------------------------

Regarding P5-133XL: .............................
You're exactly the opposite. I'm thinking seriously to abandon the "Wizard" nick cause you deserve it more! :wink:

Prof.Wizard

06-28-2002, 10:09 AM

PeeWee looks like someone about to be picked out of a police lineup. I suppose that's the heat but I can see it nonetheless.
I would have responded to that, but SWAT is knocking on my door. I have to flee... :lol:

Cliptin

06-28-2002, 10:29 AM

Hello Mercuuuuuutio...

Bill, please tell me that's not some kind of weird statement of attraction.

Bill, I'm pretty sure Merc is not a Seinfeld fan. The opposite I believe.

Jake the Dog

06-28-2002, 10:39 AM

PeeWee looks like someone about to be picked out of a police lineup. I suppose that's the heat but I can see it nonetheless.

i'm sure everyone has pics in which they look disreputable (not suggesting pw's is such a pic). i came across one such pic of me whilst looking for some to post here. god knows if you were to see it, you would have an entirely different opinion of me and it too is only a pic of my head and shoulders.

Prof.Wizard

06-28-2002, 11:09 AM

i'm sure everyone has pics in which they look disreputable (not suggesting pw's is such a pic). i came across one such pic of me whilst looking for some to post here. god knows if you were to see it, you would have an entirely different opinion of me and it too is only a pic of my head and shoulders.
Jake, I'm pretty sure all level-headed members of SF will respect you and admire you for your intellectual contribution (posts) rather than your looks.
Everyone looks as he likes and we should respect that. Personally I find you pretty cool with that haircut! :)

One of the things I like in forums (this e-world) is that you don't have to care much about trivial things, like the other guy's personal style.

And I believe William created this thread out of curiosity, not to flag a member or two. If yes, then he flagged himself!! LOL. :P

CougTek

06-28-2002, 11:17 AM

P5 though, not one little bit.
Regarding P5-133XL: .............................
You're exactly the opposite.

...I imagined you looking more like Mark, who look a bit like a cave man.
Guys, guys...you sound like it's the first time you see someone wearing a true beard (not something shy like mine or Tony's). Saying that Mark looks like the opposite of what you think he looked like is sad, because everyone here thinks Mark is a great guy, full of wisdom. IMO, he looks like the uncle every kid would like to have.

Ok, one last comment about Mark just to show I'm still not mature enough to shut up when something stupid passes through my mind :
http://home.attbi.com/~markturner/Mtt.jpg
http://www.cdpl.lib.in.us/raves/giver.jpg

Are you cousins? ;-)

OT: Polizei

06-28-2002, 11:27 AM

Letztes Wochenende.

http://www259.pair.com/urlaub/hlm/images/schultz3.jpg

flagreen

06-28-2002, 11:27 AM

flagreen

06-28-2002, 11:33 AM

Hey Prof! Here's a tip for you... put the crack pipe down once and a while.

Stereodude

06-28-2002, 11:35 AM

Here I am outside a hotel in Taiwan. I was there on business.

http://stereo.d2g.com:900/stereo_01.jpg

Stereodude

The Giver

06-28-2002, 11:37 AM

Stereodude - Explain yourself man. The Giver sees but one of you in the photo.

The Giver

06-28-2002, 11:39 AM

CougTek -

The Giver does not believe Mark is African-American and so he cannot be a cousin of The Giver. Though the resemblance is striking.

Dozer

06-28-2002, 11:47 AM

Here's Dozer's mug:

http://www.eastchattanoogalumber.com/DOZ.jpg

That cheezy grin stays on my face most of the time :)

Mercutio

06-28-2002, 12:08 PM

Hello Mercuuuuuutio...

Bill, please tell me that's not some kind of weird statement of attraction.
Oh no.. it actually is a play on the way Jerry Seinfeld greats Wayne Knight's character on the Seinfeld show. He always says... "hello Neuuuman". I wasn't aware you were not a fan. Sorry.

Fun with nested quotes!

Nope. I never liked Seinfeld's standup routine and I've never watched more than about 10 seconds of his TV show.

I was thinking something more like a "Helllloo Nurse" sort of thing when I read your comment.

Mostly people tell me I look like the hacker-guy from Jurassic Park or the cop from "3rd Rock from the Sun". I just went to imdb to find out his name.

Cliptin

06-28-2002, 12:28 PM

Stereodude - Explain yourself man. The Giver sees but one of you in the photo.

ROFL!

P5-133XL

06-28-2002, 12:56 PM

Mark, where is your mouse?

If you look closely beside the monitor, you will find a kensington Expert mouse (a trackball).

P5-133XL

06-28-2002, 12:58 PM

How many working computers do you have goin there ?

There are 3 in there and one in an adjcent room.

P5-133XL

06-28-2002, 02:13 PM

Damn this thread for making me use IE...

I am extremely envious of Mark's collection of books (I have a few thousand myself, and some thousands of CDs, but not 20,000 of anything), and wondering, upon an additional examination of Mark's picture, whether or not he has eyebrows.

Yes, there are actually Eyebrows but not viewable from that photograph.

NRG = mc²

06-28-2002, 03:17 PM

if you were to see it, you would have an entirely different opinion of me and it too is only a pic of my head and shoulders.

if we were to see it? Go on... you know you want to! :mrgrn:

And I believe William created this thread out of curiosity, not to flag a member or two

Flag a member? :-?

Saying that Mark looks like the opposite of what you think he looked like is sad, because everyone here thinks Mark is a great guy

No one said he doesn't look great - he just looks older than what I thought. Perhaps he isn't - after all, long beards add 10 or 20 years to one's appearance... :)

Here's Dozer's mug:

What did you do that time? Hate the photographer and put glue on the camera's viewfinder? :D

Dozer

06-28-2002, 04:26 PM

What did you do that time? Hate the photographer and put glue on the camera's viewfinder?

Nope...photographer was naked...hehehe :oops:

Stereodude

06-28-2002, 04:30 PM

Stereodude - Explain yourself man. The Giver sees but one of you in the photo.I was accidentally filtered down to one channel for this picture. Really was a tragic thing.

Stereodude

Mercutio

06-28-2002, 04:50 PM

Somehow I figured Stereodude would be tall and really skinny. I have no idea why.

Still waiting on pictures from Cliptin and James, our men of the hour, Flagreen, Buck, CougTek (scan your drivers license, Coug), Fushigi, timwhit, Adcadet, Groltz, Clocker (although we've seen his before), time, i and friends, Sol, Handruin, Splash and friends... my, this is a thread that needs a great deal more participation.

timwhit

06-28-2002, 04:55 PM

What about you Merc? A description isn't good enough, we want pictures. I will get a picture of myself soon...

Cliptin

06-28-2002, 06:05 PM

What about you Merc? A description isn't good enough, we want pictures. I will get a picture of myself soon...

Yeah Merc, and you even own a digital camera. I'm going to have to scan some photo. It'll be here tonight. Don't miss it!

Mercutio

06-28-2002, 06:47 PM

Just rest assured that a picture of Wayne Knight is really, really close.
To put it another way, if there was anyone else famous that I strongly resembled, I wouldn't be talking about the white guy from "Space Jam" who isn't Bill Murray.

Lessee... we also don't have pictures from Pradeep, Doc Willy, jtr1962, JKKJ, adriel, LiamC, adriel, SYROB or The JoJo.

Mercutio

06-28-2002, 06:49 PM

I seem to have fixated on adriel for some reason. Let's chalk that one up to poor proofreading skills.

Groltz

06-28-2002, 07:18 PM

For much the same reason that Cougtek mentioned earlier today, it is in my best interest not to post any pictures that have a positive facial ID.

Nevertheless, I can share these (http://www.storageforum.net/groltz/mugshots.jpg) if anyone is really curious.

CougTek

06-28-2002, 07:32 PM

I seem to have fixated on adriel for some reason.Why, you're still not sure whether he is a boy or a girl? :P

Handruin

06-28-2002, 08:40 PM

This is Laura and I. We've been together for 4 years and 9 months now. I'm not a big fan of pictures, so it's hard to find me in one by myself...

http://www.storageforum.net/forums/images/meandlaura2.jpg

NRG = mc²

06-28-2002, 08:53 PM

This is coming along nicely - perhaps it will be the most popular thread on SF (after, of course, Tony's version of Apology to China).

Should Rocco perhaps post a full photo? Just kidding of course :mrgrn:

Jake the Dog

06-28-2002, 09:19 PM

lets see a pic of the famous runied hand!

Handruin

06-28-2002, 09:32 PM

lets see a pic of the famous runied hand!

It's hidden under my left elbow. ;)

Clocker

06-28-2002, 10:21 PM

Here's me...about a month ago when Shan and I went up to Mackinac Island for a long weekend. It was unseasonably cool but a nice time nonetheless...

http://www.storageforum.net/clocker/clocker_mackinac.jpg

Clocker

Prof.Wizard

06-28-2002, 11:35 PM

Who are you Kevin?
The red or the yellow bottle?! :lol:

(j/k of course)

jtr1962

06-29-2002, 12:42 AM

Lessee... we also don't have pictures from Pradeep, Doc Willy, jtr1962, JKKJ, adriel, LiamC, adriel, SYROB or The JoJo.

Here I am:

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/b8b16449/bc/My+Photo+Album/__hr_cleo.jpg?bcyRUH9AUiN6DyHv

Surprised? Tea's not the only non-human around here after all!

I'll be back in a bit. I have to use the litter box.

Tea

06-29-2002, 01:25 AM

My word, JTR, you sure do have beautiful ears.

Cliptin

06-29-2002, 01:29 AM

The two faces of Howell.
http://cliptin.dyndns.org/sf/cliptin1.jpg

http://cliptin.dyndns.org/sf/cliptin2.jpg

Clocker

06-29-2002, 01:54 AM

I think it is really great to be able to put faces with names. SF feels different already!

C

James

06-29-2002, 11:26 PM

I might be able to provide a not-too-old photo once I get back home. Does someone have some webhosting space they could lend me?

Tea

06-29-2002, 11:34 PM

Email it to me, James. You can put anything you like up on the Red Hill server. Just so long as we don't tell Tannin. :wink:

Jake the Dog

07-01-2002, 09:11 PM

there's still quite a few people who haven't shown us there faces :( c'mon folks, we're all friends here.

James

07-01-2002, 11:23 PM

Thanks Tony. Not sure I have your e-mail address; perhaps send me an email at my work address and I'll reply.

Tea

07-02-2002, 02:17 AM

No need James: redhill@redhill.net.au - it's already part of every spam list on three planets, so no harm in putting it here.:(

(Tannin never reads my posts so I should be safe enough.)

(Never reads his email either, so you can say anything you like!)

NRG = mc²

07-02-2002, 03:35 AM

Yeah come on, we still have some people missing I think...

Fushigi

07-02-2002, 08:32 AM

OK, OK. I was actually mostly ignoring this thread. I'm not embedding the image as it's 112K and I don't have any image editing software here at work that I can use to reduce it. Our engagement photo: http://www.bakabaka.com/pers/john-tricia.jpg. Subtract about 25 pounds for my current size.

... and now you have my real name too.

- Fushigi

Jake the Dog

07-02-2002, 09:04 AM

nice to meet you fushi :)

thanks, you reminded me of something i wanted to mention before. i too am a little slimmer now compared to photo's 1 and 2 that i put up for show. i've lost 40lbs since february...

Prof.Wizard

07-02-2002, 10:53 AM

So your real name is "Fushigi", John?! :P

Fushigi

07-02-2002, 11:16 AM

So your real name is "Fushigi", John?! :PYep, my secret's been revealed! 8)

Cliptin

07-02-2002, 01:21 PM

Nice to see you Fushigi.

Oh yeah, well I took a shower so my hair is not standing up today. And I shaved.

Mercutio

07-02-2002, 01:49 PM

Wow. I was working under the impression that Fushigi was actually Asian. There goes THAT idea...

The JoJo

07-02-2002, 02:24 PM

Hmm, gotta agree with Mercutio! So much for that idea (about Fushigi)....:)

Ok, a picture of The JoJo, coming up!

Prof.Wizard

07-02-2002, 02:36 PM

Guys... a question...

Was it a mere coincidence Mercutio started the "10-reasons-you-are-a-geek" thread just a couple of days after our photos were up?! :-? :roll: :lol:

Mercutio

07-02-2002, 03:17 PM

Prof, go back and look again. I *didn't* start the geek thread. I just wrote 85% of the replies.

Prof.Wizard

07-02-2002, 03:28 PM

Whatever... Dozer, then.

NRG = mc²

07-02-2002, 03:29 PM

Fushigi, I always thought you were Japanese, because of the nickname :)

NRG = mc²

07-02-2002, 03:32 PM

Oh great. Didn' realise the topic had a second page to it and didn't see the rest of the replies. Seems I wasn't alone in thinking that.

Tea

07-02-2002, 07:31 PM

If Tannin lost 40lbs, he'd be a skellington!

Fushigi

07-03-2002, 08:42 AM

Well, for starters, how do you know that's my real picture? :lol:

Seriously, I was introduced to anime as a hobby a number of years ago. From that I developed an interest in other aspects of Asian culture. Mostly Japanese, but some Chinese & Korean as well. One reason I didn't contribute to the music threads of late is that I mostly listen to various forms of J-pop :rnd: like Namie Amuro. Japanese techno-dance. No, I don't fully understand the lyrics, but that doesn't necessarily lessen my enjoyment of the songs. Listening to foreign language singers helps me concentrate on the human voice as an instrument.

And, when joining a new forum or registering for some online service, 'fushigi' is almost never already taken. This is important as my last name is Jones. Add that to my first name and you can see how difficult it can be to find a forum where someone hasn't already registered under that name and all possible reasonable permutations.

- Fushigi

Prof.Wizard

07-03-2002, 09:12 AM

And, when joining a new forum or registering for some online service, 'fushigi' is almost never already taken. This is important as my last name is Jones. Add that to my first name and you can see how difficult it can be to find a forum where someone hasn't already registered under that name and all possible reasonable permutations.
LOL. Ditto.

I know something about it. Wizard is one of the most common nicks online. I decided to find a "reasonable" alternative once I couldn't remember my ICQ# and a friend of mine couldn't find me by the nick "Wizard"... there were just too many! (back then didn't have any user infos in)

Dr.Wizard was (to my surprise) taken too... So, the I tried the last (and higher) step... Prof.... 8)

simonstre

07-03-2002, 09:17 AM

Tea, do you think that Tannin could allow me a little webspace just to put my picture?

It's not big, but I don't have any place to put it... :oops:

Tea

07-03-2002, 09:30 AM

Shhhhhh!!! He'll never know if we don't tell him. Email it to me - MODERATED

The Giver

07-03-2002, 10:54 AM

The Giver demands that "Drunken Bastard" post his picture. He assures DB that it will not be passed on to the authorities. A mug shot will be just fine.

NRG = mc²

07-03-2002, 01:03 PM

Heres the DrunkenBastard, on the left

http://www.redhill.net.au/sf/amd.jpg

Oh, and conveniently, heres a photo of the Bartender

http://www.5bayside.com/photos/fullsize/P9150005.jpg

NRG = mc²

07-03-2002, 01:07 PM

Damn, I royally screwed that one up. I must learn to use the preview function. If one of the mods wants to crop/resize the photo and make the [quote] tag into an [img] tag then go ahead.

Clocker

07-03-2002, 01:23 PM

Too many words...not enough pictures!

The JoJo

07-04-2002, 02:18 AM

If this doesn't work, I hope Tony can help me out:

http://thejojo.no-ip.com:8082/pic.jpg

Can someone try it out please?

Yeah, that fella with a mouthfull of chewing gum is me...

Mercutio

07-04-2002, 02:25 AM

Works just fine.

What are "Jenkki"?

The JoJo

07-04-2002, 02:39 AM

Thanks for trying it out!

Jenkki is a local chewing gum brand. Their slogan is something like "Pure Jenkki" where the pure=finnish for chewing.

Prof.Wizard

07-04-2002, 02:43 AM

JoJo you look Finn!

OT: Finns are the most adorable members of the EU. Don't know why, they're just too nice! :D

The JoJo

07-04-2002, 02:50 AM

Thank you PW :) !

Tea

07-04-2002, 03:41 AM

Enough of these poor human being-type excuses! I see that JoJo and Simonstre are still pretending that they don't have access to a web server, the cowards. Well, I'm not shy, and I have good contacts with the Papparatzi. This is JoJo.

http://www.redhill.net.au/sf/jojo.jpg

And here is Simonstre:

http://www.redhill.net.au/sf/simonstre.jpg

Hmmm... For humans, they look quite good.

Tea

07-04-2002, 05:08 AM

But wait, there is more! Here is a picture of my very good friend Kava, fetchingly decked out in a rich red rug. (Slightly cropped to save messing up the thread.) She has a wonderful personality too. I guess she would come along and post here at Storage Forum, but she has a little difficulty with keyboards. I think she needs smaller feet, or maybe bigger keys. No matter, she's nice.Comes from the same part of the world as me too.

http://www.redhill.net.au/sf/santilli3.jpg

The Grammar Police

07-04-2002, 05:09 AM

But what about the humans, you fool?

Tea

07-04-2002, 05:11 AM

Humans? Ohh! Sorry.

Yes, that's Greg Santilli and his friend Lisa. I forgot to mention them.

The JoJo

07-04-2002, 02:32 PM

Thanks Tea!

CNN Sport

07-06-2002, 01:43 AM

"Ed?"

"Dave?"

"Have you managed to sleuth out any more photographs yet?"

"No Dave. I've got the Papparatzi out but the last few members are proving very difficult to track down."

"You're going to have to do better, Ed. We have a public that we are irresponsible to, you know."

"You mean 'responsible to', don't you Dave?"

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Slip of the tongue."

"Hey, wait! There is a parcel."

"Well, are you going to sign for it? Don't keep the man waiting."

"No, you sign for it, Dave."

"Me? It's your parcel. You sign."

"But I don't know what's in it. I mean what if it's drugs, or ---"

"Is it ticking?"

"Er.. Nope."

"Should be safe enough then. And if it is drugs, well, it might help liven up the broadcast next time the game is rained off."

"Well, OK then. If you're sure. Oh wait, there is a 'sender' label. Ahah! It's from the Papparatzi!"

"Open it, Ed, Open it!"

"Oh look! It's James!

http://www.redhill.net.au/sf/james.jpg

Bartender

07-06-2002, 01:55 AM

Ed and Dave! Except for Santilli, all of the pictures you pick are of 20-year old people. Is there some precedent to this forum? Are Buck and I in the wrong place? Should we be starring on the show Waiting for God instead?

Tannin

07-06-2002, 01:59 AM

Cropped as per your request, NRG. Not sure why I still have editing rights, but what the hell - I might as well make myself useful, I guess. Not sure who changed the [IMG] tag though - that wasn't me, must have been Mercutio.

Mercutio

07-06-2002, 02:03 AM

Clocker

07-06-2002, 02:04 AM

20 years old....yeah I wish.

:-P

Mercutio

07-06-2002, 02:06 AM

Don't feel bad, Bartender. The hair at my temples is gray (I SWEAR I'm going to color it) and a couple days ago someone guessed I'm 20 or so, from the sound of my voice.

Argh. Nearly 27 years old and the impression I give is that I'm not old enough to drink?!?

Bartender

07-06-2002, 02:09 AM

Alas, Buck drinks too much. That bourbon is his strong desire – it must be an ancient wound, or an inheritance (I believe they can be the same).

Clocker

07-06-2002, 02:22 AM

Pleading "not guilty". Actually, if Mr. Wilson would care to slum about with the ACTUAL moderators for a moment, he'd see that Mr. Green confessed to that particular crime.

In the library. With the candlestick.

Merc how can you look like that old guy (whever it was) and be 27!? You're such a young lad... ;-P

C

Mercutio

07-06-2002, 02:49 AM

Just trust me. Everyone says so. Same nose, same cheeks, same chin(s).

And there just aren't any pictures of me, either. I hold the camera. I don't stand in front of it.

James

07-06-2002, 04:07 AM

Ed and Dave! Except for Santilli, all of the pictures you pick are of 20-year old people.Actually, I'm 30.

timwhit

07-06-2002, 04:15 AM

I hold the camera. I don't stand in front of it.

If you hold the camera backwards and point it at your face, there is a possibility that it will take a picture of you.

James

07-06-2002, 04:46 AM

If you hold the camera backwards and point it at your face, there is a possibility that it will take a picture of you.
Indeed, that was how my photo was taken. I'm not a fan of photos of myself either, and I have done a pretty good job throughout my life at avoiding 'em.

On occasion though, like this one, I think it's only polite to post a picture of myself, despite my usual reservations. I just won't ever visit this thread again. :wink:

flagreen

07-06-2002, 05:16 AM

I hold the camera. I don't stand in front of it.

If you hold the camera backwards and point it at your face, there is a possibility that it will take a picture of you.

Hey it worked for me! Thanks timwit.

http://home1.gte.net/res0hopz/sublime.jpg

flagreen

07-06-2002, 07:57 AM

http://home1.gte.net/res0hopz/fun.jpg

Prof.Wizard

07-06-2002, 08:21 AM

Mwahaahahahah! :o :lol:

Hey flag... however you know what THIS means eh?!
Yep. It means war, buddy... :wink:

flagreen

07-06-2002, 08:28 AM

Bring it on! You'll never make a monkey out of me!

Mercutio

07-06-2002, 09:18 AM

If you hold the camera backwards and point it at your face, there is a possibility that it will take a picture of you.
]
Thank you Mr. Smartass. :P

Not right now. I'm a mess. Besides, I don't want to break my camera.

P5-133XL

07-06-2002, 01:17 PM

If you hold the camera backwards and point it at your face, there is a possibility that it will take a picture of you.

How do you think my picture was taken?? It rested on my monitor while pointed at me and I simply raised my hand to press the button. Decidedly low tech, but hey it works. Note, it took several tries to get my face centered, but a digital camera uses no film: thus no additional cost per shot.

Prof.Wizard

07-06-2002, 02:23 PM

P5 is always here with his little explanation. :)

I have both a web camera and a digital camera. I took my pic with the digital (an ancient Nikon Coolpix 600) for better quality. Come to think of it, if Osama's lieutenants see my face on flagreen's joke they might drop me a mail to join their lines...

I really look scary in that photo... :skepo:

Koggit

07-08-2002, 11:42 AM

Think about this long and hard.

http://www.erecellstudios.com/P5-133XL.gif

Prof.Wizard

07-08-2002, 02:23 PM

ROFLMAO to the n-th power! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Koggit

07-08-2002, 10:26 PM

am I the only one who finds this particular part of the picture disturbing?

http://www.erecellstudios.com/0o.JPG

Jake the Dog

07-08-2002, 10:56 PM

hmm. i think only those who have posted a picture of themselves should have the right to have fun with other peoples pics.

/me looks at koggit :P c'mon show us a picture lad.

flagreen

07-08-2002, 10:57 PM

He has already.

Jake the Dog

07-08-2002, 11:11 PM

can't seem to find it. where?

Cliptin

07-08-2002, 11:14 PM

First page, just beneath Groltz first post. Maybe six down from Tannin.

Jake the Dog

07-08-2002, 11:23 PM

doh! pardon me and my lack of eyesight :o

NRG = mc²

07-09-2002, 05:40 AM

hah, I find the entire picture disturbing, Kogitt. I guess drunken bastard could be any of the three of them, they're all just as bad. :-?

Prof.Wizard

07-09-2002, 09:10 AM

hmm. i think only those who have posted a picture of themselves should have the right to have fun with other peoples pics.
You're all lucky asses cause I'm in exam period...
Otherwise I would have done a party with all your photos and "Mr." Corel PHOTO-PAINT 10... :roll:

Pradeep

07-13-2002, 01:15 PM

http://www.xibase.com/gallery/pradeep.jpg

Cliptin

07-13-2002, 01:41 PM

http://www.xibase.com/gallery/pradeep.jpg

Sweet! The mysterious man shows his face.

Tea

07-13-2002, 09:50 PM

Hey Pradeep! Cool! I was wondering if were were going to to be graced with your mugshot ... er ... I mean portrait. Neat.

e_dawg

07-19-2002, 06:15 AM

Here's me. Shawn / e_dawg.

http://www.catalytic.ca/sr/shawn_1.jpg

http://www.catalytic.ca/sr/shawn_3.jpg

Tony, all your pics seem to be missing...

Handruin

07-19-2002, 07:12 AM

Welcome e_dawg!

The JoJo

07-19-2002, 08:17 AM

e_dawg, nice to see ya! Welcome!

James

07-19-2002, 09:43 AM

Good to see you, e_dawg! Can we look forward to your continued presence?

simonstre

07-19-2002, 10:24 AM

e_dawg, did you read about F@H? :D

e_dawg

07-19-2002, 11:06 AM

Thanks for the welcome, guys. Great to see some familiar faces again. Since most of you are from SR anyways, I guess it should be "welcome back, e_dawg" :)

OTOH, like James alluded to, my presence is usually like that of a bear -- I am known to go through long periods of hibernation.

As for FAH, I used to run the FAH client all the time, but it stopped working well for some reason and I sort of stopped using it. Since then, I have joined SR's UD team and have been slowly chruning out the odd WU for them. I'm going to stay with SR/UD for now.

Besides, at the rate I process WU's, I wouldn't be of much use. I can no longer tolerate running the client in the background while I work, so it only comes on when the screen saver is active. And that is only for 10 hours a day, usually.

flagreen

07-19-2002, 04:32 PM

Welcome E_dawg. I wish could Ice Skate. I have weak ankles and they always buckle in. Very embarrassing and uncomfortable. I was reduced to sliding in my sneakers over the ice when I was a kid. Once in a while the sliding was unintentionally done on the seat of my pants. 8)

Dozer

07-19-2002, 04:51 PM

I can no longer tolerate running the client in the background while I work, so it only comes on when the screen saver is active.

You could run it as a service in XP/NT...hardly even know it's there. :)

The more help, the merrier!!!

e_dawg

07-19-2002, 07:27 PM

Heh, it's the fact that it stole my CPU cycles and made everything less "snappy" that I didn't like. I'm already getting dual Athlon 1800 MP envy; let's not make it any worse by talking about easy multitasking, shall we? :)

James

07-20-2002, 02:41 AM

I'm already getting dual Athlon 1800 MP envy; let's not make it any worse by talking about easy multitasking, shall we? :)
Actually, it's not quite as fabulous as you might think.

e_dawg

07-20-2002, 03:29 AM

How so, James?

Tea

07-20-2002, 06:48 AM

Hey! E_dawg my man! Great to see you! Damn. it, where is Tannin when you want him?

(Tannin! Get over here!)

(Huh?)

(Come over and say hi to e_dawg.)

(I'm busy. You say 'hi' for me ... Who did you say?)

(E_dawg.)

(Oh. That's different. Hang on a tic. I'll be right there.)

Tannin

07-20-2002, 06:49 AM

Hi Shawn. :)

Tannin

07-20-2002, 07:09 AM

(Err, Tea?)

(Mmmm?)

(Why does everybody look so young?)

(Because we are young, you fool. All of us. Except for you and the Bartender, of course.)

(Rubbish. What about Fushigi and Buck? And what do you mean 'we'? You and I are not baby-faced youngsters like James and e_dawg, you know. We are mature people. Well, a mature ape, in your case, but mature nonetheless.)

(Oh don't be ridiculous, Tannin. You might be mature, but I'm not. It's a well known fact that I am an indeterminate but small number of years old, and my summers could be reckoned on the fingers of two hands.)

(Not any more. As of today, you are 38.)

(No I'm not.)

(Oh yes you are. You are imaginary. I invented you, I can change you if I want to.)

(Oh Tannin. You just don't understand, do you. Maybe it would be different if you had had children of your own. Then you would have learned. Sooner or later, there comes a time when you have to let go. It's much to late to go changing me. If you wanted me to be 38, you should have decided that in the first place and imagined a differen me. As it is, you'll just have to wait.)

(You mean in about 30 years, you will be 38?)

(Maybe. I'm not sure if imaginary people age like real people or not. Maybe in 30 years I will still be just as innocent and beautiful as I am now. Are you any older than you were this time last year?)

(Umm ... Yes. At least I think so. One year older, in fact.)

(Whereas I was the same age when I was born as I am now. Well, maybe. I can't remember how old I was when I was born. Do you remember?)

(About seven, I think. Or maybe eight)

(Well, there you go then. Looks like I'm stuck here.)

e_dawg

07-20-2002, 07:46 AM

Heh, heh... Great to see you too, old friend. And when I say old, I mean... :) just kidding, Tannin. Yeah, I get that all the time -- the babyface comment.

Just a couple months ago when I was at a Mother's Day party, one girl asked me "so are you still in high school?" I was a little surprised by that comment. Sensing that in my expression, she said "oh, sorry, you must have just graduated." I just laughed and looked at her brother, who said "High school? Heh, Shawn's doing his MBA now; the guy has 2 undergrad degrees more than you!" With a little embarrassment, she said the words I hear twice a month: "oh, I'm sorry. You looked younger than I thought."

... so I decided to act my supposed age and proceeded to hit on her younger cousin, who was probably 19 or so :mrgrn:

time

07-20-2002, 09:12 AM

That was no 19 year old younger cousin. That was her grandmother. Everyone always says how young she looks.

e_dawg

07-20-2002, 09:47 AM

Gee, thanks, time. Now I'm traumatized by the resultant imagery.

Bartender

07-21-2002, 12:34 AM

Greetings e_dawg, what type of drink can I get you (your list in the beverages thread allowed for a good variety)?

Tea, I know apes are binocular, so seeing the youth in Buck, me, or Fushigi should be easy. As a matter of fact, if P5 would shave off that beard, I'm sure he'd look like a 19-year old. In the picture Tannin displayed for us, he looked a bit grumpy (headache or something), so his youthfulness was not able to shine through.

Buck

07-21-2002, 12:36 AM

Quite right Bartender. One of these days I'll have to show one of those obscure pictures like Koggit did, that'll prove my youthfulness. Just a word of caution Tea, I've seen what your type look like as they age, and it's not so cute. You're gonna make me look slim! :)

Bartender

07-21-2002, 12:46 AM

The problem with Buck, is that almost any picture of him (and they are rare) have him face on the bar, slumped over in chair.

Buck

07-21-2002, 12:47 AM

Pffttt! Liar! I'll go back a few years and find a picture or two proving that I wasn't always an overweight sloth!

Tea

07-21-2002, 12:56 AM

Well, this is just the very thing Tannin and I were discussing, Buck. Do imaginary people age? Tannin seems to think that we do, but I'm not so sure. I rather suspect that I'll still be my current size and shape in 100 years. I mean, how old is Christopher Robin? Or Dorothy? Now those two were born about 80 and about 150 years ago respectively, and I'm quite sure that Christopher Robin is still 6, and that Dorothy is still a little girl too. (Though I'm not sure if she is in Oz these days or back in Kansas.)

But that's if I still exist in 100 years, of course. I'm a bit afraid of that. What happens if Tannin gets run over by a pizza delivery van, or gored to death by a large wild parrot? I know I wouldn't have come into the world if Tannin hadn't imagined me, but if he goes away will I still be here? Or do I just disappear into nothing?

Maybe the Bartender knows.

Bartender

07-21-2002, 01:16 AM

Interesting topic Tea. Does Buck's head make a thud on the bar rail when there is no one around to hear it?

If Dorothy is no longer where we've left her, then hasn't her entire world moved along with her?

I believe we are as old, or as young, as Tannin and Buck want us to be – and what would you expect from some psychologically unstable individuals as that, then to be found on a roller-coaster ride of: ‘You’re this, no you’re that…wait...’

Tea

07-21-2002, 01:26 AM

Hmmm .. Tannin tried to make me 38 just now, but I wasn't wearing it. So it seems that we have at least some free will.

Actually, I've never noticed Buck's head go "tump" on the bar. He seems to subside quite gracefully most of the time, with just an imperceptable sort of gradual slump into unconsciousness. Mind you, It's bit hard to hear from down here.

Bartender

07-21-2002, 01:29 AM

Maybe it is just my acute hearing when I pick up his sorry head by the hair to see if he's still alive and let him flop back down. :)

e_dawg

07-21-2002, 08:05 AM

Greetings e_dawg, what type of drink can I get you (your list in the beverages thread allowed for a good variety)?

I'll have a screaming orgasm, if you don't mind.

P.S., I was able to find the name of my shooter :)

James

07-21-2002, 08:48 PM

How so, James?
I'm pretty sure there's a topic in the Computers section which includes my thoughts on the subject... ah yes, here (http://www.storageforum.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=728) it is.

e_dawg

07-21-2002, 09:07 PM

Hmm... I wasn't hoping for more top-end speed, but to raise my "minimum" speed, if you will -- reducing the bogging that occurs when one CPU is tied up @ 100%.

But if you and others are suggesting that there is no extra responsiveness during multitasking, then my whole point of wanting a dual CPU setup is gone.

This both disturbs and puzzles me. :evil: :eekers:

Bartender

07-21-2002, 09:48 PM

Greetings e_dawg, what type of drink can I get you (your list in the beverages thread allowed for a good variety)?

I'll have a screaming orgasm, if you don't mind.

Coming right up.
Equal parts:
Baileys
Kahlua
Amaretto
Vodka

Jake the Dog

07-21-2002, 09:53 PM

welcome e_dawg! nice to have another canine on the block. stay away from my fire hydrant! :P

Buck

07-22-2002, 11:13 AM

This is from a few years ago and several pounds lighter.

http://www259.pair.com/urlaub/hlm/images/br.jpg

Bartender

07-22-2002, 11:13 AM

Finally, a picture. But that doesn't look like you!

timwhit

07-22-2002, 11:28 AM

Buck, you do realize that we can't tell a damn thing from that picture....

Where are you camping there?

Buck

07-22-2002, 11:54 AM

California, Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, Inyo National Forest.

Vlad The Impaler

07-22-2002, 06:48 PM

I decided to shrink myself into my avatar.

flagreen

07-22-2002, 07:01 PM

Buck,

Do you like sleeping on rocks?

Buck

07-22-2002, 07:05 PM

Buck,

Do you like sleeping on rocks?

hehehe - No, I don't like sleeping on rocks and I didn't. I slept inside the tent with an air matress and my sleeping bag. The terrain may seem really rocky, but it wasn't. The rocks just end up there because that area had been used plenty of times before us as a camp site. People will get rocks to build fire pits. Then, for the sake of the environment, they dismantle the pits by spreading the rocks around (ooooh, big help). The rocks work really well though, as they hold onto the heat for a while.

flagreen

07-22-2002, 07:37 PM

Ah so... had it been me who were asked that I would have answered - "Real men sleep on rocks." :)

James

07-22-2002, 08:50 PM

Pradeep

07-22-2002, 09:01 PM

Fortunately without the inherent doubling of failure rate :D

e_dawg

07-22-2002, 09:53 PM

But if you and others are suggesting that there is no extra responsiveness during multitasking, then my whole point of wanting a dual CPU setup is gone.

I'm afraid I sort of see dual CPUs as being the IDE RAID0 of extra day to day performance, if you get my drift.

Ouch. A damning statement against dual CPU's if there ever was one. I spit on IDE RAID and the very silicon its controllers are made out of.

James

07-22-2002, 11:21 PM

Mercutio

07-22-2002, 11:27 PM

"Real men sleep on rocks." :)

No no no.

Real men sleep on jagged rocks.
Or broken glass.

Or beneath real women. :)

Cliptin

07-23-2002, 12:05 AM

"Real men sleep on rocks." :)

No no no.

Real men sleep on jagged rocks.
Or broken glass.

Or beneath real women. :)

Or red ant hills!

e_dawg

07-23-2002, 05:40 AM

Oh, it's stable and all that - not like IDE RAID0 - but I was alluding more to all those SR newbies putting in RAID and expecting their day to day performance to go through the roof, and it doesn't. It's the same with dual CPUs IMO. If you have a specific use that is helped by 'em, by all means go for it. If you're just an average user looking for the Tim Allen "more power" experience, you're looking in the wrong place.

No traditional dual CPU applications in mind (like rendering, for example), but I very much dislike how my computer is unresponsive when the CPU is pegged at 100% by various processes while multitasking. Something I do quite frequently is compiling articles for research in Acrobat files. I frequently encounter 100% CPU usage and a semi-frozen computer when I am (1) web or paper capturing to Acrobat, (2) opening webpages that have JavaScript pop-up windows, and (3) saving Acrobat files. It is frustrating having to wait anywhere from 5-20 seconds for my computer to "unfreeze" and respond to my inputs before I can do anything. This, to me, is multitasking by water torture. If a dual CPU setup will allow me more responsive multitasking and minimize those "frozen CPU" moments, that is all I am asking for.

What say you, James?

Tea

07-23-2002, 06:09 AM

Your problem, o doggy one, is not the lack of a second CPU. It is the lack of a decent multi-tasking OS. :wink: All jokes aside, no version of Windows that I have ever seen can multi-task particularly well.

time

07-23-2002, 07:21 AM

That statement will probably earn Cas' ire.

e_dawg

07-23-2002, 07:29 AM

Your problem, o doggy one, is not the lack of a second CPU. It is the lack of a decent multi-tasking OS. All jokes aside, no version of Windows that I have ever seen can multi-task particularly well.

We shall have no comments from those running obsolete OSes like Warp! :)

... but yes, I agree with you to a point. I switched to W2k from 98SE for several reasons, including access to the far superior NT kernel with pre-emptive multitasking. I ran NT4 Server as a test case for a few weeks before determining that its multitasking capabilities were significantly better than 9x. I figured W2k Pro, being based on the same kernel, would be just as good. Sadly, I find it is not as good as NT4 Server. Maybe somewhere in between 9x and NT4. Strange. I have tried adjusting the priority boosting quanta in the registry without much success.

I wonder how those massive enterprise DB's running MSSQL on W2k seem to handle so much load so gracefully...

The JoJo

07-23-2002, 07:32 AM

e_dawg, can't imagine you not benefitting from using a dual cpu system from the sound of your problem.

On the other hand, you might want to switch over to linux and not upgrade your system ;) , that's what I did.

Tea

07-23-2002, 07:46 AM

It may well be obsolete, but it can multi-task far better than any Windows version ever did, o Doggy One. Or, no doubt, given the massive code-bloat that MS can't seem to avoid these days, ever will. But yes: the multi-tasking advantage of the NT family Windows products over the 9X family stuff is substantial. I can't say I've noticed a great deal of difference between NT 4.0 and W2K though: perhaps because the only machine I have run both on is this home unit, and it is already massively over-powered for the work it does. I mean - what is the point of 512MB DDR, X15 and Athlon XP 1800 for a machine that spends its entire life running an email client and a handful of web browsers? In other words, I could run Windows 3.1 on this beast and, from the point of view of multi-tasking, probably not notice too much difference.

These days I run a mixed stable of machines: W2K here at home (plus the Linux-based firewall I built a couple of hours ago), ECS or OS/2 on most of the office machines (which I do expect to be able to multi-task flawlessly on, and don't expect to ever crash), NT 4.0 on a workshop machine, 98SE on a little office box that I seldom use, even DOS 6.3 on the workshop DOS box, which plays audio CDs to amuse us and creates various floppy disc images on demand). The other machines I am responsible for (family ones) all run W98SE (because it's easy to fix) or NT 4.0 (because it doesn't often need fixing). But even now, I still snort whenever I hear a Windows user talk about multi-tasking.

PS: if you still think I'm an OS snob, well, you just ain't ever met a Linux user. :) And as for Mac users ... well ... We will say no more.

e_dawg

07-23-2002, 09:52 AM

what is the point of 512MB DDR, X15 and Athlon XP 1800 for a machine that spends its entire life running an email client and a handful of web browsers?

It's one of life's luxuries to be able to do everything you want at top speed without ever having to wait for the computer. This, coincidentally, is my goal.

PS: if you still think I'm an OS snob, well, you just ain't ever met a Linux user. :) And as for Mac users ... well ... We will say no more.

My former boss was a Linux snob. And I have seen a bunch of people on SR that are strong advocates of Linux.

I don't consider myself an OS snob, as I have repeatedly tried to give Linux a chance (and will again in a few months), but I absolutely need to run W2k for its applications. I am literally dependent on Office, IE, and other such products and require full functionality for advanced features and formatting that are just not cross-platform compatible. And I have still found it to be the fastest and most stable of all the OS's I've tried (Linux incompetence notwithstanding).

As for Mac zealots, I find it amusing how they preach to me as I am now a "reformed" Mac user. Been there, done that. They really were superior IMO back in the days before Windows 95, but ever since then, there has been nothing but hype and empty promises until perhaps OS X 10.2.

James

07-23-2002, 10:03 AM

James

07-23-2002, 10:12 AM

One other thought.

Looking at your present system, if your .sig doesn't lie, you would get about a 10% preformance "feel" increase moving to a system with DDR RAM, and about 10% improvement in feel moving to an 800MHz box, then 10% more moving to 1200MHz, and then about 15-20% more going to around the XP1800+ or so mark. People will dispute my numbers I'm sure. :)

But my point is really that you can get a 50% or more improvement in the speed "feel" of your machine going to an Athlon XP-based system at the cheap end of things, which would be a pretty minimal expenditure (US/Canada-based people will be able to better estimate the exact amount).

Cliptin

07-23-2002, 10:27 AM

My vote is for the javascript. My 1800+ bogs down for 5-10 seconds depending on how many windows are opening. This from a machine with 256 MB and only a mail client and one IE window open. Let me take that back. W2k is not slow: I can browse the start menu and windows explorer windows but IE is slow.

James, after you start Acrobat can you assign it to a particular CPU?

e_dawg, For minimal investment (under $150US) You can get a board that will support all your ram and an XP. Dozer just bought a board that that supports DDR and SDRAM.

cas

07-23-2002, 11:12 AM

That statement will probably earn Cas' ire.
Tannin has been well schooled (http://forums.storagereview.net/viewtopic.php?p=16651#16651). He seems to be confused about a number of related issues, which makes it difficult for him to articulate a strong position on this matter.

07-23-2002, 11:39 AM

No traditional dual CPU applications in mind (like rendering, for example), but I very much dislike how my computer is unresponsive when the CPU is pegged at 100% by various processes while multitasking.
[...]
This, to me, is multitasking by water torture. If a dual CPU setup will allow me more responsive multitasking and minimize those "frozen CPU" moments, that is all I am asking for.

What say you, James?
I say that Acrobat distilling is not dual processor aware (I just gave it a try) and is CPU bound. Ditto Javascript. You'd be better off buying either a faster CPU or two faster computers and networking them than a dual CPU machine.

Can someone explain how Acrobat not being "dual processor aware" impacts what e_dawg has stated his problem is?

James, you advocate a faster CPU as the solution. I don't understand how that's an effective solution to e_dawg's problem. For example, say he just picked up a single processor system that's 50% faster than the one he started off with. Perhaps being that much faster, the system will become more responsive to other applications he decides to launch while Acrobat is running.

Ok, sure ... assume the responsiveness does improve. But what happens on the very next day, when e_dawg installs another, even more CPU-intensive application? One that maxes out his new CPU? Or when he decides to run two instances of Acrobat at the same time? What do you suggest then, that he upgrades his CPU again?

It seems to me that, when you get to the level of application use that e_dawg is apparently at, you have to accept the fact that, sooner or later, you're going to run an application that peaks your CPU's capabilities. When that happens, you get an unresponsive system (unless you're running OS/2 or whatever).

That's where I don't understand what the problem is with a dual processor solution. I would accept the fact that the occasional application I run is going to max out one of the CPU's. Big deal. The OS will notice that one CPU is maxed out and simply run any other application I happen to run during that "high load period" on the second processor. Hence, the dual processor system will be consistently more responsive - and be capable of being that way for a longer period into the future - than the single processor system.

I'll assume I'm wrong about this ... someone tell me where.

The JoJo

07-23-2002, 01:11 PM

I seem to think about this matter exactly as i.

So what if the program hogs CPU 1 for X seconds or minutes, as e_dawg can still happily use the computer because of CPU 2? Is there something I'm not comprehending?

Yes, you can have multithreaded programs (written some) , but you can also run 2 instances of a singlethread program when you have 2 cpus.

flagreen

07-23-2002, 01:52 PM

Yes, you can have multithreaded programs (written some) , but you can also run 2 instances of a singlethread program when you have 2 cpus.
Or four instances if you have dual Prestonia Xeons.

The JoJo

07-23-2002, 02:08 PM

Only in my dreams flagreen ;)

flagreen

07-23-2002, 02:49 PM

I'm sitting here typing while frame serving a movie I captured out of Adobe Premier into virtual dub which is encoding in Divx while at the same time ripping a movie with the smartripper. CPU usage is only 27%. There are very few multi threaded programs I've seen which can achieve 100% cpu usage on my machine (dual 2.2 prestonias) . Xmpeg and Tmpgenc being two which will when taxed enough. I can also run four instances of SETI at once which will also run at 100% cpu usage. I don't need the prestonias or even duals for the stuff I do with my PC but hey, other guys my age don't need Corvettes or Cabin Cruisers either, but they're sure nice to have.

e_dawg

07-23-2002, 11:18 PM

Bill,

How much did that dual Prestonia setup cost you (could you break it down into mobo, RAM, CPU, case/PS)? I would like to see how far I would have to stretch (okay, explode) my budget... I haven't been able to find any dual Xeon mobo under $400, BTW. That seems to be the most expensive component.

James,

I am with i and The Jojo on this one (maybe the blind leading the blind, but the rationale seems logical). If Acrobat maxes out a single CPU, can I not use the other CPU to zip around in Windows and work on other apps? That is the whole point -- not making Acrobat run faster, but making everything else run "not as slow" when Acrobat is tying up CPU #1.

flagreen

07-23-2002, 11:54 PM

Well I bought both the board and the cpus right after they became available and prices have droped since then. So I'll price them at todays prices. The 2.2 xeons are $311 each. The Supermicro P4DC6+ is $617 or $398 without the onboard scsi (P4DCE). 512mb RDRAM (2x256) $206 TOTAL. Lite-on FS120 case $125.00 and the PC Power and Cooling 450w PS was about $200. So the bottom end total would be $1551.00. Prices are from www.micropro.com

James

07-24-2002, 01:06 AM

I am with i and The Jojo on this one (maybe the blind leading the blind, but the rationale seems logical). If Acrobat maxes out a single CPU, can I not use the other CPU to zip around in Windows and work on other apps? That is the whole point -- not making Acrobat run faster, but making everything else run "not as slow" when Acrobat is tying up CPU #1.
The problem is I think that you guys don't realise that XP doesn't (reliably)farm out CPUs to applications based on which is the least busy. (At least, I can't get it to do that unless I set processor affinity individually for applications beforehand based on the order I'm going to launch them.) It's not like there's a pool of twice the available CPU power which is doled out as required.

If one CPU is maxed out doing Acrobat distilling, you can certainly do other OS-related tasks using the other CPU, but that's a pretty small list. If you then start doing something complex in Word the chances are the system will chug just as much as if you had one CPU, 'cos the other one is essentially unused.

This is why having dual CPUs is particularly useful when you have one application that knows how to use both of them at the same time(database, Photoshop, DiVX...) and get tasks done quicker that way. It's not much use when you have multiple applications which aren't multithreaded or dual CPU aware. You may find that tasks get split across both CPUs but no more than 50% of either CPU gets used - in other words, it's of limited usefulness unless you're going to go back to your desktop and play around with it (since the OS is multithreaded) in which case the extra available CPU overhead indeed makes the desktop more responsive. But that's not really what you want, is it?

All this IMO, of course. There may well be a way to things the way you suggest, and indeed I think that's sort of how I imagined the world of dual CPU goodness would be before I got into it. It's just that it doesn't work that way for me.

time

07-24-2002, 03:39 AM

flagreen

07-24-2002, 05:18 AM

My system never bogs down. Of course I probably don't run the intense apps that James does. But even so I have been running four instances of SETI in the past which results in 100% cpu usage and still no bogging unless I set the priotrity for SETI at the maximum level. From I've seen XP Pro does a pretty decent job of load sharing. It could also have to do with the differences in the chipsets and how they handle smp.

James

07-24-2002, 07:22 AM

I'd be interested to hear what Cas has to say about this. He has previously disparaged BEOS as offering no advantage over NT, yet I am under the impression that it was rather good at load balancing, and supposedly the API encouraged all apps to be multithreaded.

Cas, is the problem solely down to the way NT apps are written?
I'm not Cas, but that's my reading of it. BeOS was designed from the ground up as a multi-CPU OS, NT was not - or, at least, it has to be backwards compatible with a lot of applications that are not.

Bill, SETI won't bog down your computer because the task is set as a low priority. Almost anything else takes precedence.

Mercutio

07-24-2002, 07:34 AM

Tea

07-24-2002, 07:40 AM

Ahh, I was about to ask about mainframes. And in-between things of the AS-400 flavour, come to that.

James

07-24-2002, 07:56 AM

If you know your target platform has multiple CPUs, you'll write your app to take advantage of them (or at least be multiple-CPU friendly). If you're unsure, you'll tend to write for the lowest common denominator. And with mainframes, if you're a contractor, you'll write whatever is the most complex and takes the longest time - that's something that works really well in a multiple CPU environment if at all possible. ;)

time

07-24-2002, 08:11 AM

:mrgrn:

cas

07-24-2002, 12:30 PM

link (http://www.storageforum.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=13656#13656)

Fushigi

07-24-2002, 02:45 PM

Without exception I can't think of an operating system that handles multiple CPUs really well and really gracefully. They're all basically retarded when it comes to that.

OK, since fushigi will probably come by and mention it, mainframes OSes do it pretty well (mainframes are lots of little CPUs).I was keeping quiet, but since you mention it... The general rule is that on an AS/400 a.k.a. iSeries, SMP overhead is as little as 4% of each additional CPU. For instance, a dual-processor model 730-2066 has a performance rating of 1050. The 4-way version, 730-2067, has a rating of 2000, netting a loss of 4.76% due to SMP overhead. There are a handful of hardware white papers at http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/whpapr/#hardware although most are a couple of years old and could use some updating.

Of course, as has been said the gains from SMP also depend on application design. A single-threaded app will not generally benefit from SMP with the exception that the app isn't slowed down by whatever else might be running. We have a number of apps that, due to their design, can utilize only one of the four CPUs in our main system. However, if the app makes a system call, that system call can be SMP-capable. I've seen plenty of times where a dynamic index over a multi-GB file is built and all four CPUs crank to build it in just seconds.

In terms of multithreading, http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/whpapr/threads.html describes the threading architecture. IBM has benchmarked the prior generation of hardware at over 400,000 concurrent threads; the new hardware should up that by 80% or so. The only real limit is memory & storage.

- Fushigi

cas

07-24-2002, 03:45 PM

The general rule is that on an AS/400 a.k.a. iSeries, SMP overhead is as little as 4% of each additional CPU. For instance, a dual-processor model 730-2066 has a performance rating of 1050.
Even in the case of applications with careful SMP support, this metric is very application specific. Certainly, very low common resource contention would be required to maintain an SMP penalty below 5% for an arbitrary number of CPUs. Any lower, and it would seem that multiple individual machines would be a better solution.

cas

07-24-2002, 04:56 PM

IBM has benchmarked the prior generation of hardware at over 400,000 concurrent threads;
Certainly, you wouldn't want a system that limited threads in some arbitrary way, but I hope most readers realize what an absurd number even 40,000 threads is.

The ideal number of threads for a process in a 4-way machine is exactly 4.

The JoJo

07-24-2002, 05:00 PM

I might be a bit out of the loop, but what do you do for a living cas? Or, how are you "into" threads/SMP/Clusters/mainframe etc program design?

After a few years with beowulf clusters and MPI programming, yup, 4 threads/4 cpus sound about right...:)

cas

07-24-2002, 05:09 PM

...what do you do for a living cas?
I used to design real time operating systems for a living. More recently, I have worked on general purpose operating systems as well.

These days I am working on a low cost storage networking technology (http://forums.storagereview.net/viewtopic.php?p=38798#38798).

Fushigi

07-25-2002, 08:47 AM

Certainly, you wouldn't want a system that limited threads in some arbitrary way, but I hope most readers realize what an absurd number even 40,000 threads is.

The ideal number of threads for a process in a 4-way machine is exactly 4.Of course it's absurd. As far as I can tell, they did it to prove what the system can handle without barfing all over itself. The AS/400 has a history of being a closed, proprietary system. While that was true enough back in the early 90s, the iSeries today is the most open platform on the market bar none. Within a single chassis it can run multiple OS/400 invocations (including multiple OS versions), most AIX apps (true AIX coming by 2004), 64-bit PPC Linux, and multiple Windows NT/2000 servers all at the same time. The zSeries can't even do this.

But the image problem persists. A good deal of that is because IBM doesn't know how to properly market the machine. Benchmarking it helps (best JVM around, very high database TPM, award-winning Linux support, over 100,000 concurrent Notes email users on a single system while maintaining subsecond response time, support for all those threads, etc.) but they haven't managed to take the awards & benchmarks and present them in a way that will drive more business.

It's far and away the best selling midrange platform ever, but that's due to the applications, system reliability, security, and OS features. It's most certainly not IBM's marketing.

Security .. Klez just swept through our environment the other day. Dozens of NT/2000 boxes hit. System managers stayed up until 2AM fixing everything. Meanwhile, I was in Atlanta playing Whirlyball and having steak & drinks on the company. iSeries systems don't get infected with virii.

Oh well, enough ranting.

- Fushigi

Buck

07-25-2002, 10:42 AM

A good deal of that is because IBM doesn't know how to properly market the machine.

If my memory serves me well, isn't this the same reason (as was explained to me by Tony and others) why OS/2 flopped? When will IBM learn their lesson?

Tea

07-25-2002, 11:12 AM

Never. IBM are just like that. Always have been, always will be.

PS: Buck, just how do you define "flop"? By Microsoft standards, sure, but by any other standards it has been a resounding success. I don't think anyone could regard an OS that, at its market peak, was selling ten million copies a year, and which retains significant market share and is still selling at a slow and steady pace seven years after IBM were illegally forced to drop active development and marketing of it as a "flop".

Mercutio

07-25-2002, 12:37 PM

IBM is kind of its own special little tragedy. There are probably more smart people working for IBM than any other business in the world, yet because of its bizarre business culture, for all those brains, nothing ever gets done right there.
Matrix management is evil. There are a large number of people who could excel and drive every part of IBM's business forward. Instead, every decision is made by a committee and every employee seems to have four or five managers. Inertia exceeds all rational understanding.

Dozer

07-25-2002, 01:00 PM

Matrix management is evil.

Quite right, Mr. Anderson. :D

Buck

07-25-2002, 01:03 PM

Tea,

Since the context was marketing, that is where I consider OS/2 to be a flop. Yes, yes, I remember all of the commercials and hype about the OS, especially Warp, but in relation to Windows or even Linux, where are they today marketing-wise?

Buck

timwhit

07-25-2002, 03:18 PM

There were commercials for Warp??? What were they like? I am probably too young to remember.

I do remember when IBM Aptivas came with OS/2 and Windows 3.1 in a dual boot config. My parents bought one for my sister in about 1995 when she went away to college. But I formatted the drive and installed Windows 95, so I have used OS/2 but only for about 10 minutes.

CougTek

07-25-2002, 06:38 PM

There were commercials for Warp??? What were they like? I am probably too young to remember.
I think I still have somewhere a big poster of : "OS/2, Get warped!" It was nice looking, but it didn't catch well enough.

Back then, my main reason to favor Windows 95 was that OS/2 needed 64MB (huge for that time) to work relatively well and that Winblows 95 was ok with only half of that. Since memory wasn't cheap back then and also that my computer knowledge wasn't what it is today, I ditched OS/2 from my systems' options. It might have been a mistake, but I wasn't the only one to have done it.

Buck

07-25-2002, 07:21 PM

Interesting comments about OS/2 made here: (http://www.os2hq.com/archives/wp38.htm)

THE WARPED PERSPECTIVE
August 2001

I was cleaning out an old desk the other day, and I happened to find a few intriguing articles from the mid-1990's. (One of them is mentioned in the Quote of the Month above.) Aside from a few laughs at the ridiculous claims of the talking parrots who obediently repeated the Microsoft party line, there were several cases of anti-OS/2 FUD that were quite amazing.

For those who are unaware of the term, "FUD" means Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. It's a technique for negative marketing that was originally used by IBM in the mainframe business. By raising spooky questions about the future of competing products and companies, IBM could play the role of "the only safe choice" and leverage their huge size and vast experience to keep corporate customers from investigating hot new alternatives. Ironically, FUD was perfected by Microsoft during their anti-OS/2 campaign of the mid-1990's and used quite effectively against IBM. Here are a few examples.

"A Dataquest, Inc. report created quite a ruckus last week. Among other outcomes, the unpublished document predicts that IBM will kill OS/2 when the operating system fails to gain market share after Microsoft Corp's Windows95 debuts." - Computerworld, April 10, 1995, page 8.

Note the sly terminology.... "WHEN" instead of "IF" OS/2 fails to gain market share. By implying that the outcome was certain to be negative, a prognostication began to look like a plan. But even more subtle is the fact that the Dataquest report was an UNPUBLISHED document. How could an unpublished document cause a ruckus? If such a document was intentionally leaked to a wide audience, then it could cause damage without giving IBM grounds to sue. This way, corporate managers would begin to Fear for the future of OS/2, become Uncertain about IBM's long-term commitment to the platform, and Doubt that it would be around for a long time. Meanwhile, IBM could only deny the rumors; there was nothing in print to be refuted and no legal recourse to shut down the publication of an unpublished document.

What is the original source of such anti-IBM rumormongering? Look at the following excerpt:

"Compuserve's OS/2 User Forum is rife with rumors that Big Blue wil scuttle OS/2 development in favor of supporting Microsoft's Windows95. The rumors apparentlly got started when "sources close to Microsoft" leaked word to a columnist for the UK edition of PC Magazine, who dutifully reported both the rumor and source." - Computerworld, March 20, 1995, page 118.

To put these dirty tricks into perspective, note that these rumors originated with pro-Microsoft cronies and were spread quickly throughout the PC media establishment -- less than one month after OS/2 Warp had become America's best-selling retail software product. At a time when IBM CEO Lou Gerstner was openly calling for increased OS/2 development and a full sales commitment (even with direct, public appeals to all IBM executives to push OS/2 forward), persistent rumors of IBM's supposed "plan" to get rid of OS/2 continued to be propagated throughout the mainstream PC media.

Soon other computer publications jumped on the bandwagon. PC Computing's Ed Bott responded to a pro-OS/2 letter with the printed comment, "Break out the grape Kool-Aid!" -- an obvious reference to suicidal cult leader Jim Jones. Later in 1995, one computer magazine printed a sales chart that appeared to show OS/2 sales disappearing -- until the reader looked closely and realized that the horizontal axis of the graph was not zero sales per month, but 200,000 sales per month. A major trade magazine printed an article entitled "OS/2 Users Head for the Exits" -- while the accompanying graph showed that 10% more companies were INCREASING their OS/2 investments than were decreasing them.

Note that many of these phony anti-OS/2 articles were in trade publications that also had one, two, or more full-page IBM advertisements for OS/2 Warp. IBM was selling OS/2 like hotcakes, spending huge rolls of cash on OS/2 advertisements, and urging every IBM executive to promote OS/2 to IBM's clients. Meanwhile, the press preferred to spread rumors and innuendos, becoming accomplices to Microsoft's dirty-tricks campaign.

When today's users of Microsoft products endure lost data, lost productivity, and the gut-wrenching frustration of being force-fed a suite of brain-dead, obsolete products, they ought to pause and thank the media for their predicament. In one of the most shameful episodes of tabloid-style journalism ever, greatness was squelched and mediocrity became a celebrated hero. As any Microsoft watcher knows, ignorant corporate decision-makers base their selections not on reality, but on popular myths. The PC-using public needed the facts, and the "experts" in the PC media let them down.

Copyright © 2001, Tom Nadeau
All Rights Reserved.

Tannin

07-25-2002, 07:26 PM

There were commercials for Warp??? What were they like? I am probably too young to remember.

Oh, there were lots of them, Tim, and they were dreadful. I don't know what went wrong with IBM's marketing department. If you go far enough back, IBM had a superb ad agency working for them. Does anyone bar Flagreen, Fusugi and Buck remember their advertising for the IBM PC? Here is a clip from one, around about 1984:

http://wso.williams.edu/~dgerstei/chaplin/myscans/ibmcharlie.gif

Back then they seemed to understand about selling stuff, or at least their agency did. But their OS/2 campaigns were terrible. They did finally get some cool looking stuff around 1995, but it was ill-targeted and too little too late.

Coug says "Back then, my main reason to favor Windows 95 was that OS/2 needed 64MB (huge for that time) to work relatively well and that Winblows 95 was ok with only half of that." Actually the days when you needed massive memory for OS/2 were well and truly over by then. One of the great selling points of Warp was that it would run in 4MB. (Not very pleasant, but it runs.) This original 16MB memory requirement of OS/2 2.1 was, quite correctly, considered to be a major barrier to its acceptance. Windows 3.1 (there was no 95 yet) would run in 1MB, and run decently in 4MB. The glacially-slow development of product at IBM was such that they didn't wake up to this problem and do anything about it until it no longer mattered much - by the time Warp 4 came out, Windows 95 was common and anyone with any sense was buying 16MB anyway, or even 32MB.

If I am any guess, Coug, your problem wasn't that you neeed more RAM, it was that the IBM PC Company had installed your OS/2 in the traditional vomit box maker style, with 713 useless things loading and all the eye candy turned on. On Windows, this was one thing (as the worst of the Windows eye candy didn't arrive until 1998, by which time everyone had lots of RAM, and Windows was always targeted at idiots anyway), but on OS/2 it had all the charm of a slightly overweight but very competent 48-year-old charge nurse dressing up in crotchless knickers and heavy make-up so that she can cruise the nightclubs hoping for a 17-year-old. And the switching off the eyecandy process was different, so that only someone familiar with the OS could be reasonably expected to be able to do it properly. (No harder than Windows, just different.)

So there came a time, back a bit before this, when IBM's PSP division finally realised that all their "OS/2 is technically better" push wasn't quite working as they plannned. It was successful (10 million copies a year ain't small change) but not successful enough. Given that its major competition was Windows 3.1, and then the little improved Windows 95, it should have wiped the floor. This was when they turned around and said, "Oh, Windows is marketed to idiots, maybe we better have idiot marketing as well". Note the huge mistake: IBM noticed that Windows was marketed to idiots, but the new-look OS/2 campaigns was marketing by idiots. And nobody ever said that Microsoft's marketing guys were idiots - they were, and still are, some of the smartest people on the planet.